Amid cacophony of action, some happy noise on Medicare Advantage
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 08, 2023
CHICAGO — I was drawn into the provider payment conversation early and often at the LeadingAge conference here this week, but the tone wasn’t quite what I expected. After years of dark messaging on...
‘Sky is the limit’ for health information networks’ SNF insights
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 23, 2024
An expanding health information exchange connecting 71 hospitals and nearly 600 post-acute providers in New Jersey is exceeding expectations and providing staffing insights not necessarily envisioned when...
CMS proposal offers long-awaited fix for Medicare Advantage appeals
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 08, 2023
Skilled nursing providers would get a new, improved appeals process for Medicare Advantage denials under a proposal issued late Monday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
LTC pharmacies forced to borrow to buy patient drugs, close as drug middlemen tighten grip on sector
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 08, 2024
Nursing home patient access to prescription drugs is being squeezed as several market and regulatory factors have combined to increase the power pharmacy benefit managers have over long-term care pharmacies,...
PACS reveals strategy behind its move to go public
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 15, 2024
PACS Group this week filed to become a publicly traded company, a move the giant long-term care company is promising will allow it to add to its explosive growth in coming years.
Unfunded staffing mandate’s financial requirements a ‘fantasy,’ observers say
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 05, 2023
Though a costly national nursing home staffing mandate proposed Friday offers no new financial support for operators, it could trigger more reporting requirements as the federal government tries to spur...
‘What we’re doing doesn’t work’: New Jewish Home’s Jeffrey Farber
By
Kimberly Marselas
Nov 20, 2023
Even as his organization has become a hub for a swath of aging services, The New Jewish Home CEO Jeffrey Farber, MD, says certain elements of senior care need to be singled out to allow for more innovative...
Eschewing a ‘sweet spot’ for boutique-like service at any size: Creative Solutions’ Gary Blake
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 09, 2024
Gary Blake’s nameplate might say CEO, but in some ways, he envisions himself more as chief quality officer of Creative Solutions for Healthcare, the sprawling 159-facility skilled nursing company he...
Threat of devastating ‘bad debt’ grows as nursing home billing offices flounder
By
Kimberly Marselas
Aug 18, 2023
Unheard of staffing shortages in nursing home billing offices are leading to billing lapses and major uncollectible or ‘bad’ debt amounts. A $4 million case in Connecticut is fueling observers’ concerns...
‘Bleak’ outlook: Unknowns and impossibilities shrink provider optimism for 2024
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jan 02, 2024
After rebounding from the pandemic’s darkest days, many skilled nursing administrators and nurse leaders are again feeling less-than-excited about the sector’s future heading into 2024.